Summary

Hyeonseo's mother comes home with a letter one of her work colleagues received from a sister. The woman and her family are starving to death and do not expect to be alive by the time the letter is delivered. Hyeonseo does not understand why, in one of the most prosperous countries in the world, people are starving. She suddenly realizes why her friend did not have snacks to offer at her house and is mortified to learn the country is in the midst of a famine.

Across the country, people are dying of hunger. Everything from food to fertilizer is in short supply and the factories shut down. The government blames the situation on American-backed UN sanctions coupled with crop failures and freak flooding. It is not until years later that Hyeonseo learns the famine is actually the result of the...